I'll get started on this post, but I'm leaving shortly (in about ten minutes) to head for another trek. This time I'll be gone for 8 days to the west and northwest of Ulaanbaator. First, we'll be heading to Kharakorum the 13th century capital established by Chenggis Khan then I'll be going north to the Five Rivers area and then Khovsgol Lake - the deepest and largest in Mongolia. Should be spectacular. If things work out well, I'll do some more riding and even see the Tsataan people - who herd domesticated Rheindeer.

Anyway, back to live in a Ger. On my second day NE of UB, we dropped Vitse back off at home in Narek and headed for the Hillen River valley. Unlike the Tuul River, the Hillen was rumored to have large Taimen - a sort of Mongolian landlocked Salmon. 

Even though the spot we were headed for was only 200km away, Mongolian roads are less than ideal. In fact they are somewhere between horse tracks and washouts. Happily, the Russian made jeeps that are ubiquetous pretty much eat it up. That isn't too say there weren't a few close calls...

So, we'd traveled in the pouring rain through the former Russian military town of Baganur. The Russians made helicopters there. Prior to the next town, Moganmort, we stopped for the evening at a nomadic family's ger. This is very typical, and, in fact, expected. The family we stayed with was quite large. The man/wife and one brother along with the husband's mother. Plus they had seven kids (5 girls, 2 boys) all living in 2 gers. They have about 100 sheep/goats and about 60 cattle along with a few horses and four dogs. From what my guide told me, this is very much an average Mongolian family in the countryside.

However, the time I spent was anything but average and ordinary ...